The Woman Dies

Matsuda’s piercing and sometimes surreal collection (after Where the Wild Ladies Are) offers a feminist critique of women’s experiences in Japanese society. In “You Are Not What You Eat,” the narrator becomes sick early in the morning, vomiting up the previous night’s dinner and then foods she doesn’t remember eating, causing her to be “engulfed with nostalgia” for a life she didn’t live. Some of Matsuda’s stories are light-hearted, like “Bette Davis,” which follows a group of strangers who bond over the late actress and organize a seance to speak to her. During the ritual, they ask her to perform a line from Akira, which they believe she would have been perfectly suited for. The movies also come into play in the title entry, a scorching screed about the ways women are used for plot devices (“The woman dies. She dies for the sake of a good story. The woman is raped. She is raped for the sake of a good story. We grow up watching it happen”). Not all the entries deliver the same punch, but for the most part Matsuda shines with her distinctive imagery and focused commentary. Readers will find plenty to enjoy. (Sept.)